5pm on the nose. They open their mouths
And it rolls out: high, shrill and metallic.
First the boy, then his sister. Occasionally,
They both let loose at once, and I think
Of putting on my shoes to go up and see
Whether it is merely an experiment
Their parents have been conducting
Upon the good crystal, which must surely
Lie shattered to dust on the floor.

Maybe the mother is still proud
Of the four pink lungs she nursed
To such might. Perhaps, if they hit
The majic decibel, the whole building
Will lift-off, and we'll ride to glory
Like Elijah. If this is it--if this is what
Their cries are cocked toward--let the sky
Pass from blue, to red, to molten gold,
To black. Let the heaven we inherit approach.

Whether it is our dead in Old Testament robes,
Or a door opening onto the roiling infinity of space.
Whether it will bend down to greet us like a father,
Or swallow us like a furnace. I'm ready
To meet what refuses to let us keep anything
For long. What teases us with blessings,
Bends us with grief. Wizard, thief, the great
Wind rushing to knock our mirrors to the floor,
To sweep our short lives clean. How mean

Our racket seems beside it. My stereo on shuffle.
The neighbor chopping onions through a wall.
All of it just a hiccough against what may never
Come for us. And the kids upstairs still at it,
Screaming like the Dawn of Man, as if something
They have no name for has begun to insist
Upon being born.

you can look at me with your eyes
but i'm not the same
not the same as the one you think you see
you can tell me over and over
that i haven't changed
whatever you're seeing
it isn't me
i've put a million miles on this heart of mine
now there's a wreck
where perfection used to be
you tell me
smile
smile
everything is alright
it's alright
when i know most certainly it's not
i can't be the man i used to be
the man you somehow think you've got

While sitting on a mountain
And looking to the west
With evening sunset glowing
On dew upon your chest
The chilling breezes touch your skin
The fear is gone away
You've made your peace and done your lot
The darkness falls to stay
You look into the stars once more
To say your final prayer
Nature gives the incense
To lift it from your heart
There are no more regrets
You never even knew it when you left

Count your garden by the flowers
Never by the leaves that fall
Count your days by the golden hours
Don't remember clouds at all
Count your years with smiles, not
tears
Count your age by friends, not years
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